Arizona Cardinals rookie Tyrann Mathieu prepared for challenges

Summary of 3 articles · Updated May 10, 2013

Today, Tyrann Mathieu gets to get back to what he enjoys playing football. Tyrann Mathieu cried when the Cardinals drafted him in the third round last month, but he was all smiles on Thursday, the eve of his first day of his new job.Mathieu, the controver… (more)sial third-round pick, cracked jokes, smiled and acknowledged that few people are going to believe he’s a changed man until he proves it. Mathieu, the talented defensive back known as “Honey Badger” because of a viral video of Mathieu at LSU making big plays, had a problem. Mathieu believes there are “bunch of people out there who want me to succeed, who want to see me be a leader of their community.” It’s unusual for a third-round pick to have a news conference before his first practice, but the Cardinals wanted to get it out of the way before workouts started.Mathieu, who will play free safety for the Cardinals, was dynamic when eligible at LSU and earned the nickname Honey Badger because of the reckless, fearless way he played.He was just as reckless off the field but swears he has changed. The Cardinals rookie free safety begins his first minicamp today, and said he looks forward to getting back to a football routine. After being kicked off the team at LSU for failing multiple drug tests, he was welcomed to the desert with an ad for a head shop bearing his image in an alternative newspaper.